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Updated: Sep 28, 2025

Isolation of Human Islets from Partially Pancreatectomized Patients
Published on: July 30, 2011
SARS-CoV-2 in the pancreas and the impaired islet function in COVID-19 patients
Ningfei Ji1, Mingshun Zhang2, Liang Ren3
1Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common underlying diseases that may aggravates COVID-19. In the present study, we explored islet function, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and pathological changes in the pancreas of patients with COVID-19. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) and the C-peptide release test demonstrated a decrease in glucose-stimulated C-peptide secretory capacity and an increase in HbA1c levels in patients with COVID-19. The prediabetic conditions appeared to be more significant in the severe group than in the moderate group. SARS-CoV-2 receptors (ACE2, CD147, TMPRSS2 and neuropilin-1) were expressed in pancreatic tissue. In addition to SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein and virus RNA, coronavirus-like particles were present in the autophagolysosomes of pancreatic acinar cells of a patient with COVID-19. Furthermore, the expression and distribution of various proteins in pancreatic islets of patients with COVID-19 were altered. These data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 in the pancreas may directly or indirectly impair islet function.
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